The Kalis Journey
by Dolphina Moonbeam
Summary: Okay, I revamped all the chapters so the story should be better now. Contains yaoi in some chapters, some swearing, and if you wanna flame me, better leave your email ya weaklings! muahaha!(besides these'll be laughed at)
1. The Stealing of the Pilots

Kalis Journey Series-Chapter One: The Stealing of the Pilots 

Author's Note:_For the few of you(or many, can't tell from reviews alone ^_^) who know of this series, I totally revamped it after learning what I should. For those of you who are new, I threw the Gundam Guys in my own lil demension >-) I don't own Gundam, but I do own Planet Kalis and its inhabitants, so if you want to use them, just ask. ::sweatdrops:: Reviews are always apreciated, even a simple "yes" if you liked it or "no" if it sucked would be efficient ^_^;_

It was a quiet morning. Quatre sat sipping a cup of tea while reading a particulary large novel. Wufei sat on the floor in a corner, wiping his sword blade. Trowa sat on the couch staring into space, Heero sat on the on the other side working on his laptop. 

After about twenty minutes, Heero shut his laptop. It was sudden enough to make the others jump. 

"Something wrong?" Quatre asked. 

"Yeah, where's Duo? It's too damn quiet." Heero murmured. 

They all glanced at each other. The last time it was this quiet on a morning when they had nothing to do, Duo nearly killed himself by climbing up a huge bookshelf. He was wondering if anything was on top. It was amazing what the American would do when he was bored. 

Before they had a chance to move on their free will, they heard Duo screaming. They jumped up and ran towards his voice. They reached his bedroom to find the door locked. 

"Kuso," Heero cursed under his breath. 

"Move, Yuy." Wufei said. "Hee-yah!" The door was kicked open in a flash. 

Quatre was the first to run in. He saw Duo tossing and turning in his bed. 

"He's still sleeping," Trowa murmured, stepping up behind his blond companion. 

"Yeah but he's having a nightmare, a pretty bad one I'm guessing." Quatre said. "Hey, hey Duo, wake up." 

Quatre shook Duo's shoulder gentley. Duo sat up quickly and slapped Quatre's hand away. He looked at the other pilots, blushed slightly despite himself and quickly wiped the sweat that was forming on his forehead. 

"Hey, what's going on?" Duo asked. 

"You were screaming your head off, you weakling." Wufei grumbled. 

"Well I was having a really weird dream!" Duo said defensively. "It was so strange. We all ended up on this other planet and there was this girl and, well, it was just too weird." 

"That's from eating week-old leftovers after midnight, baka." Heero said. 

Duo stuck out his tongue. "Bite me." 

"You should be awake anyway Duo, it's nearly noon." Quatre said. 

"Yeah yeah yeah," Duo grumbled, rolling out of bed and straightening his braid. He followed the others into the kitchen where they made breakfast and Quatre fixed him a cup of tea. He sipped at it, only talking enough so that the others couldn't tell that his mind was still fixated on his dream. 

He knew there was no way that dream was triggered by a bad meal. 

The rest of the day was eventless enough. Quatre spent most of his time reading, Wufei trained on his own. Trowa stayed scarce and if Duo wasn't trying to figure out his dream he was annoying Heero. So things were peaceful and normal. 

That is, until nightfall. 

Heero was walking alone when he felt something strange. Somehow, he knew his Gundam was in danger. In turn it could only mean the other Gundams as well as their pilots were also in danger. He went down to the hangar to find that no one was there, at least no one he could see. It was too dark. He tried to turn on the lights, but there seemed to be no power. He pressed the security button, hoping it still worked. 

Trowa was the first to see the red lights go off. He quickly and quietly got the others and they found Heero still standing in the hangar's doorway. Heero looked at them then nodded towards the darkness. Duo's eyes swept from his fellow pilots to the door before he went forth. He was the best at stealth and would most likely to at least find out who was there. 

Duo crept around. It was hard to see and he couldn't risk a thing. He was about to give up when he heard footsteps. He turned to them and tried following but soon lost himself in the darkness. He looked around and realized that he really couldn't see a thing anymore. He tried feeling around, but found only air. 

"Shit," he murmured. 

"Duo? Hey, Duo? See anything?" Quatre whispered. 

"He's been down there for nearly a half an hour." Wufei murmured softly. 

"I'll go after him." Trowa said. 

"Be careful." Quatre advised. 

Trowa nodded and started on his search. He found the foot of a Gundam and followed around it. He could tell it was Sandrock, he could almost smell Quatre all over it. He worked his way around to one side and began walking, ready to run into the other foot any minute. But he never did. 

"Duo? Quit fooling around already, this isn't funny." Trowa whispered. He grumbled. "Damn you Duo, where are you?" 

Trowa stopped walking and looked around. He realized his eyes weren't adjusting to the dark at all. Sandrock's other foot, the walls or any of the other Gundams seemed to be no where near him. 

"What the hell-" 

Heero sighed angrily. "Whatever's down there, I'm gonna kill it." 

He jumped down and landed without a sound. His senses keen to sound and movement. 

_Damn you Duo, always screwing around. Trowa's not being any better today._ Heero thought to himself. 

Something clattered behind him. he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the darkness. 

"Show yourself or I will kill you." He warned in a harsh whisper. 

Nothing. 

After a few moments, Heero put his gun away. He felt something was very wrong now. The darkness pressed around him like a smothering blanket. Silence hung heavy in the air. 

"Damn it." 

"They've been gone way too long," Quatre said. 

"Stay here and call for them." Wufei said. 

Quatre looked down into the darkness. He was really worried, there was no sounds whatsoever coming from any of the three. 

He snuck down, promising himself he wouldn't go too far. 

"Hey Duo? Heero? Trowa? Any of you guys there?" Quatre called softly. 

A whisper was heard in front of him. he could swear it was Heero's voice. But it came and went so quickly, he couldn't be sure. 

"Okay you guys, if you're trying to scare me, you won, now come on this isn't funny." Quatre said firmly. A cold wind blew by his back suddenly and he spun around. "Who's there?" he demanded. "I'm warning you, I can defend myself very well!" There was a sudden bang. Quatre jumped. "Wufei?" He yelled. "Wufei is that you?" 

Silence. It was the first time that Quatre realized that it was completely silent. Not even his voice echoed. He crouched down, shaking slightly. 

"What's happened?" 

Wufei came back, his sword by his side. 

"Quatre? Quatre where did you go?" Qufei whispered. He cursed in his native tongue before he began shouting. "If this is some sort of joke by the four of you, I'll hurt you severly and hold Duo COMPLETELY responsible!" No answers. "That does it." 

He jumped down and quickly went rumaging around in the dark looking for the four pilots. He heard someone whispering, he turned towards the noise, but no one was there. 

"You four get out here right now!" Wufei demanded. 

Still nothing. He walked around some more, eyes sharply darting to each and every shadow, waiting for any excuse to chop a hair off one of their heads. He realized the pressing darkness quicker than the others, but was just as clueless as to what to do about it. He gripped his sword harder, and waited. 

"Whatever evil this may be, show yourself. I'll destroy you." 

At once, all five boys felt as if they had just woken up from a nightmare. They were no longer in the hangar with their Gundams but in an alleyway. Rain began to fall, lending the only noise to the strange place. 

"Where the hell am I now?" Duo wondered. 

"Duo? Duo that you?" 

"Quatre? Yeah, I'm right here." 

The young Arabian stepped out of the shadows. Already his blond hair and half of his clothes was soaked. "Got stuck under some sort of gutter I think," 

"Well that had to be a wakeup call," Duo said, grinning. 

"To say the least. What is this place?" 

Duo shrugged. "Beats me. Think the other guys made it here?" 

Before Quatre could answer, yelling could be heard from down the alleyway. The two could just make out a small figure running from a group of angry armed men. They were surprised when five more men jumped down from a building, blocking the figure's path. 

"In the name of President Gates, Supreme Ruler of Kalis, we place you under arrest." One man said. 

"Arrest this." A cold voice murmured. 

A bright light suddenly errupted from the figure, nearly blinding Duo and Quatre. They gasped when they felt someone pull them back near a wall. 

"Shh," came a harsh whisper as two thin hands covered their mouths. "They'll hear you two." 

"Oh get off us Heero," Duo muttered, pushing him away. 

The three looked up and saw that all the armed men were gone. Only the figure was left. A loud clatter made everyone jump, except the figure who just spun around. 

Trowa suddenly fell into view. Aparrently he had tripped over a garbage can. 

"Who's there?" Came a demand, then Wufei was the next to run out of the shadows from behind the figure. 

"Whew, I'm glad you guys are all right," Quatre said, standing up and going towards his friends. 

Duo and Heero followed. They almost formed a circle around the strange figure. They could see it was a girl. Her age couldn't be determined easily, but she couldn't be much, if any older than them. Her hair was tied back tightly, she had brownish-greenish eyes that stared at them coldly. She was almost thinner than Heero and only about an inch shorter. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Quatre asked, approaching the girl slowly. "How in the world did you get those guys to dissapear like that?" 

Very suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the girl lunged forward and with one swift movement slammed the back of Quatre's head with her fist. He slumped to the ground, but never rose. 

"Quatre!" The others cried. 

Trowa was the first to come forward to attack. The figure left him unconscious where he stood. 

"I will kill you." Heero said, whipping out his gun. 

Before his fingers even so much as grazed the trigger, the figure snatched the gun out of his hand and slammed it into the side of his head. Heero hung on to consciousness just long enough to say, "I'll kill you," then he spoke no more. 

"Why you sadistic bitch," Duo spat. The figure cocked the gun and aimed it at Duo. 

It was the first time in the past ten minutes everything was still. Wufei pointed his sword at the girl, but she pointed the gun at Duo more menacingly and already she proved she could shoot the two of them before they drew another breath. 

Wufei and Duo both watched her eyes, but they betrayed nothing. Duo thought Heero was the Perfect Soldier, trained mentally and physically, but this girl had to be ten times worse. She also looked familiar, somehow. All thought fled when she suddenly pulled the trigger. 

_***Click!***_

"Damn it," she muttered. Then she threw the gun at Duo hard enough to knock him out of his senses as well, she spun around and took Wufei's sword. And by it's blade. She didn't care that her hands were bleeding, in fact she barely flinched from the pain. 

Wufei was dumbfounded. He fell to his knees and bowed his head. 

"Well, go on, kill me. At least do me that dignity." Wufei said. 

He could tell when she raised the sword, he recognized the swishing of the air as she did, only a single tear escaped before she took her strike. 

To his dismay later on, she turned the blade on its flat side and whacked him on his temple, rendering him useless. 

So the figure stood there eyeing the five Gundam pilots as they lay next to each other, unconscious in the alley, rain soaking their faces, hair and clothes. The only light in the alley suddenly went out.


	2. The Telling of Kallis' History

Kalis Journey Series-Chapter Two: The Telling of Kallis' History 

Author's Note: How am I doing so far? The revamped version better? Well I guess the first chapter didn't suck that much otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this. Here we meet our mysterious attacker. Is she an enemy or friend? Where are our boys and how the hell did they get there? 

Quatre moaned slightly. His head hurt and felt very strange. Half of it was cold and the other felt very warm. His whole body was sweating and he shuddered. 

"Hush now little one," a voice said soothingly. "You'll be okay." 

He slowly opened his eyes to find the speaker was a young woman. Her blond hair was long, her blue eyes sparkled with kindness. 

"Hey, where am I?" Quatre asked starting to sit up. 

The woman gently pushed him back. "It would be best of you stay put, you're not quite dressed for the occasion, if you get my drift." 

Quatre realized that the only things covering him was his boxers and a fleece blanket. He slowly laid back down, then he realized the reason his head felt cold was because an icepack had been tucked behind his head. 

"Man, what happened?" He asked. 

"My name is Beazin. You had been accidentally attacked. My people and princess ask for your forgiveness. What would be your name young man?" 

"Quatre Raberra Winner." 

"Ah, I see." 

"It doesn't make sense that I was attacked by a princess." 

"Not much makes sense in these times, young Quatre." She gave him a meaningful look deep into his eyes. "Well, I can see that looks are quite decieving. You may be young but you hold the look of an unfortunate past." 

"I guess it depends on how you want to look at it." 

"I believe the other four young men with you were companions?" 

"Yes, they're my friends. Are they all right?" 

"A few bumps on the head, one with a nasty cut. Nothing we can't fix here. By the way, take this." 

She handed Quatre a cup full of red liquid and a small yellow pill. He looked at it questioningly. 

"And this is?" 

"It's an herbal remedy for the kind of treatment you and your friends recieved. It's to cure concussions and other head injuries of this sort." 

Quatre hesitated before putting the pill in his mouth and took a quick gulp of his drink. It tasted very sweet at first, holding a strawberry flavor, then turned to a bitter-sour lemon. Beazin took the cup after seeing his reaction and sniffed the liquid. She took a sip herself and made the same face. 

"Oh, my apologies," she said. "Must be another attempt at strawberry-lemonade by the children." 

"It's okay." Quatre said, smiling. 

He sat up again and looked around. The room was large, rounded, made of rock and wood. The beds of more wood, straw, and the fleeced blankets. The other pilots were beginning to wake up as well, some having close to the same reaction as Quatre. Duo seemed a bit cranky, Trowa and Wufei were silent. Only Heero overreacted. He reached for his gun but found he was only dressed in his boxers too. 

"Um, what happened to our clothes?" Duo asked as the young brunette who sat near him handed him juice and a pill. 

"You all were caught in the rain. Your clothes were washed, dried and are ready for wearing." Beazin said, standing and going to the center of the room. She glanced around the room and the other girls took the cups and left. "My name is Beazin. You are in safe hands now. Our princess didn't mean to attack," 

"Weak woman, what would you know?" Wufei muttered. 

Beazin glared at him. "More than you think Wufei." 

The Chinese boy blinked. "How did you know my name?" 

"I have some mind-reading abilities. It is the gift handed through my family. Now there is much to be explained to you all and I'm sure you have many questions." 

"I sure as hell do," Duo said. 

A young boy came in and handed Beazin some folded clothes. She handed each pilot their outfits. 

"This boy is Tran. Get dressed and he'll lead you to our meeting room. There we will talk." Beazin said. Then she left the room. 

Tran turned away as the boys got dressed. He played with a stray stick on the ground. 

"How old are you Tran?" Quatre asked, pulling his shirt over his head. 

"Eleven." Tran said. 

"Is Beazin your mom?" 

"Uh uh, she my sister. My mom's gone." 

"What happened?" Duo asked. 

"She was put under a dark spell by President Gates' assistant." 

"Meaning she was killed I presume," Trowa said softly to Heero, who didn't answer. 

Tran's sharp ears picked up Trowa's statment. "Nope, she's alive, just that she can't control herself. That must be pretty awful." 

Duo raised an eyebrow at the others, looking a bit worried. But he left the conversation at that. The pilots finished dressing then followed Tran into a small hallway that lead to a room with a round table. Beazin sat at one end and waited silently until the five were seated, then Tran nodded and quietly left. 

"Some time ago, President Gates found a warphole into another dimension. We're not sure yet of how it was possible, but the facts remained that it was there and it could lead to very dangerous consequences for both of our worlds. Undoubtedly, the large machines you five possess are the key to a lot of power in your world. But they could destroy ours." Beazin explained. "We were able to close the door, but the President found the means to break our spells. That is how you have come to us. The warphole is closed for now due to a spell compromised between the princess and the President's first assistant." 

"So there goes our ticket home." Duo said. 

Beazin nodded. "For now." 

"You mentioned spells Beazin, what do you mean by that?" Quatre asked. 

"In this world, magic is very real. We have come to learn that in your world it is no more than a fantasy power, often looked upon as evil. But here, our planet is divided by those who can do magic and those who can't. Our people evolved to do magic or not, much like the species of planet Earth would split during their evolution. But as we grew more intelligent, we saw no reason that magical people couldn't converse, marry and have offspring with the non-magical people." 

"I supose someone thought different?" Heero asked. 

"Not until Gates came into power. The planet was always ruled by a magical person, of course assistants and advisors were non-magical to keep the equality in balance and everyone was happy with this arrangement. We've never had trouble with other planets. But one day our king and queen had been caught in an unfortunate accident. A fire had gotten out of control and killed them. For a long time we believed their daughter had been killed with them. So the world lived on in a cruel society. Gates had ordered magical people to be either kept as slaves or put in military camps. We were no longer allowed to study our arts as our ancestors did before. I was three when the revolution began against President Gates. My family was in one of the first camps freed from Gates' tyranny. Soon we had ourselves a relatively small army. Those not part of us are either pacifists who won't fight-" 

"Relena would just love them wouldn't she Heero?" Duo said. 

"......" 

"Or they support President Gates." Trowa said. "Am I right?" 

"Yes." Beazin said. "When I was fifteen, we found a young girl all on her own. She was unconscious and badly hurt. We brought her back to our home, cleaned her up and took care of her until she awoken. One of our elders nearly had a heart attack when he met her. He knew she was the princess, but had no proof. She stayed with us and proved to be a very strange warrior." 

Beazin would have gone on but the door opened and she quickly stood. In walked the dark-haired girl that had attcked the boys in the alley. 

With a growl, Wufei was one his feet in a minute. He glared at the girl, who only stared back. Wufei just thought of attacking when he suddenly found himself on his back. The girl placed a foot firmly on his chest. 

Wufei blinked, but said nothing. 

"She's earned my respect." Duo said, sitting back and putting his feet on the table. Quatre gave him a glare and shoved his feet off. Duo stuck out his tongue. "So who are you?" 

"......" The girl sat down. 

"Funny, that's what Heero says all the time!" Duo said with a grin. 

"Gentlemen, I'd like to present Princess Kallishanasti, the rightful ruler of the Planet Kalis." Beazin said. 

"Excuse me?!" Duo cried, then he fell backwards. 

"You must be kidding," Heero said. 

Trowa said nothing. Wufei sat back in his chair, eyes never leaving the girl. 

"Princess Kallishanasti," Quatre began. 

"Kalli." The girl said flatly. 

"Okay, Kalli, why did you attack us?" 

"I didn't know who you were." Kalli replied. "In this world, attack first questions later." 

"Kalli!" Beazin scolded. "I thought we talked about that." 

"Still doesn't change my views." Kalli said. 

Heero had stood to help Duo back in his chair. By the time he sat down again, the cold feeling that had begun to wash into the room since Kalli arrived got worse. Even Quatre eyed the girl with some amount of distrust. 

"So, this is your princess," Duo said, finally breaking the icy silence. "No proof though, huh?" 

"Only this." Kalli said, turning around in her chair. She was wearing a black tanktop, the back sank low enough that the boys could see the black and silvery pentagram that looked as if it were burning into the girl's pale skin. 

"This is the mark of a full-blooded magical person." Beazin said. "The only one left." 

"Now I'm confused." Wufei said. 

Beazin held up a hand to silence him. "There was only one couple left who didn't have a non-magical person in their bloodline. That couple is now dead and their prodigy sits before you. There is not a single family left on this planet that isn't either a mix of magic and non-magical people or purely non-magical." 

"Okay, we have the life story of this planet. Now what?" Heero asked. 

"Well besides Princess Kalli you seem to be the only ones who have any military experiance." 

"I'm sure Mr. Perfect Soldier could teach your people some things." Duo said with a grin. 

"Can it Maxwell." Wufei muttered. 

"We wanted to ask for your help. In exchange, we'll find a way for you to get back home." Beazin said. 

The five glanced at each other. Trowa already knew Quatre would do it. He glanced to Duo who was smiling. Wufei gave a slight shrug. He looked to Heero, who was also looking at the others. 

"Mission accepted." Heero said. 

Kalli stood up and left the room. They all stared after her. Beazin sighed. 

"What's eating her?" Duo asked. 

"Where had she been for all those years? Just wandering around as an infant?" Quatre asked. 

"No. When she came to trust us, she told us what was really going on. She had survived her parents accident, President Gates wasn't very happy with it. So instead of letting her grow up to rule as our princess, he took her and gave her hard military training from day one." Beazin sighed again. "She grew up with no one to love her, care for her. You think your buddy Heero over there is bad," 

They glanced at each other. Quatre took a deep breath. 

"Poor girl. Even now, no one loves her?" Quatre asked. 

"She has earned the respect and honor of her people, but it's difficult to love someone who can't love you back."


	3. The Analyzing of Kalli's Heart

Kalis Journey Series-Chapter Three: The Analyzing of Kalli's Heart 

Author's Note:_ The plot thickens..._

The boys were shown around the fairly large underground village that Beazin's parents had built. One section was for families to live, play, teach and learn. Young children played games involving complicated hand motions and tossing objects in the air. They even spotted one group of children tossing balls back and forth, except the balls never touched their hands. 

"Telekenetic handball." Beazin explained. 

"Looks like something out of The Matrix." Duo mumbled. 

Another section held meeting rooms full of graphs, plans, maps, anything that could be thought of to help bring down President Gates. There was also a training room. Trowa was the only one to really look inside and find Kalli there, she was attacking a punching bag with kicks and punches so fast it nearly made the boy's head spin. 

"Yo Trowa! Wakie wakie!" Duo called. "What's wrong with you?" 

"Nothing." Trowa said. He glanced back at the girl then followed the others. 

"You caught us at an extremly important time," Beazin said, leading them into a meeting room with a map on the wall of a mansion. "We are about to bring down President Gates once and for all." 

"Hold on a minute," Duo said. "Every time someone tries something like this, something goes wrong." 

"Things have already been going wrong." Kalli said, apprearing in the doorway. "Half our resistance has dissapeared. More and more dissapear everyday. That was something I wanted to discuss with you, Beazin." 

"What's wrong?" 

"The other day I encountered Jeir, Lao-Chang," Kalli hesitated. "And Opanai and Ferrero." 

Beazin sat down hard on a chair. Her face went white. "What happened?" She asked in a wavering voice. 

"They attacked me. I didn't hurt them. Much." 

"What did you do Kalli?" Beazin stood and went to her, grabbing the girl roughly by her shoulders. Kalli blinked back, her face blank, emotionless. "Kalli, what did you do?!" 

Kalli pushed Beazin off. "I only kept them from hurting the others with me that day and put them out of commission so not even Gates could hurt them without a reason." 

Beazin began to cry, falling to her knees in front of the girl. "Why did you hurt them? It wasn't necessary, why didn't you bring them back?" 

It was an upetting scene. Quatre bit his lower lip and turned away, Trowa put a comforting arm around him. Duo sighed and shook his head. Heero and Wufei just looked on, but both were amazed. Beazin was getting close to hysterics and Kalli just stood there, without emotion, without any regret for what she may have done. 

_Even Heero isn't that bad,_ Trowa thought. 

"I couldn't bring them back. They didn't even know who I really was, all they knew was that I was their enemy." Kalli shook her head. "President Gates has sank lower than any living thing on this planet. We did bring Jeir back though." 

Beazin looked up. "How?" 

"Jeir's brother Zalep was with us. he broke down worse than you are now." 

Beazin raised an eyebrow. "Zalep? Break down? That's a laugh," 

"He did. He grabbed Jeir and didn't let go, then Jeir suddenly passed out." 

Beazin stood up. "And you tell me this now because-.....what?" 

"Jeir woke up a few minutes ago. Tran had come to tell me while I was training. Jeir said that he didn't remember how Gates got a hold on him, nor does he remember what made him and the others so violent. He only remembered one thing." 

"Do you have something with suspense?" Duo asked. 

Kalli gave him something of a glare. "All Jeir remembered was love. One minute he was sleeping, the next thing he knew was Zalep holding him and telling him how much he loved him. Now if you will excuse me." 

Beazin sighed. "Zalep and Jeir were one of the ones who suffered most from this ordeal. Both their parents died in a camp while they worked as slaves in Gates." 

"How sad," Quatre murmured. 

"Who are the other three Kalli talk about?" Heero asked. 

"Lao-Chang was one of my best freinds. She served as our top medical assistant. Very powerful healing spells she has. Opanai is my eldest sister and Ferrero is my father." 

"Sorry." Wufei said. 

Beazin shook her head. "I've gotten used to the idea, I guess, but I still miss them." Beazin sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Anyway, our plan to get Gates has been carefully planned out. But we need much more information before the plan can be executed." 

The discussion went late into the night. By its end, Quatre had nearly fallen asleep on the table. Wufei had been yawning silently. When the others seemed to begin nodding off, Beazin decided it was time to call it quits for the night. 

The boys went back into the room they had woken up in. Quatre fell asleep first. Duo was attempting to strike up a conversation with Heero but was failing horribly. 

"Shut up Maxwell," Wufei finally snapped. 

"As you wish, Wu-man," Duo said. 

Trowa could just imagine him grinning in the darkness. 

"I've killed people for less than that." Wufei growled. 

"Ha." 

It was finally quiet. Trowa could hear Duo snoring. Heero muttered in his sleep. He had few doubts that Wufei was still awake. It was odd, but Trowa felt restless. To make it even odder, he felt it wasn't his own. He quietly got out of his bed and walked across to the door. 

"Trowa?" Wufei whispered. 

Trowa jumped. "What?" 

"Thought it was you. What're you doing?" 

"Going for a walk." 

There was a moment of silence. "Be careful. Something's wrong." 

"How so?" 

"How am I supposed to know? Just be careful." 

"Of course." 

Trowa shut the door. He wandered around the complex, a few of the people were up and about, no doubtedly taking guard at various positions to keep any intruders out. They paid little attention to him. 

Trowa soon found himself near the training room where he had seen Kalli earlier that day. She was there again, dressed in spandex shorts and a black tank top. This girl could easily pass as Heero's long-lost sister. Trowa watched her fighting the punching bag again, using moves so quick Trowa could swear the scene was unreal. She stepped back at one point and did flips and tumbles across the room, then flipped around on bars and rods set up around the room. She moved from bar to bar, swinging, perching on it then leaping to the next like an animal. It took Trowa a while to realize that the room was fairly high, at least twenty feet from the floor to the ceiling. Kalli reached the top and stopped, staring down. She jumped off the bar and fell to the ground, head first, eyes closed. 

"No!" Trowa yelled, running forward in time to catch her before she hit the ground. 

Kalli had began to flip in the air when she was halfway to the ground so when Trowa caught her, she landed neatly in his arms. She stared at him. 

"What was that for?" Kalli asked. 

"Were you trying to kill yourself?" Trowa asked, setting her on her feet. 

"I have found that people who commit suicide are depressed and can't deal with the real world." Kalli said, brushing off her shorts. "I'm sure Beazin has told you my little problem. Gates has trained me to build up an emotional wall. All I care about right now is bringing down that thing and restore the peace to my planet." 

Trowa stared after her as she took a sip of water from a glass on the floor and wiped her head with a towel. He wasn't sure why, but he felt an attraction to her. He knew love could spring up anytime and anywhere, but this was just too strange. It was at the same level as his love for Cstherine. He supossed it sprang from a sense of guilt, no one loved Kalli just because she couldn't love back. 

"How old are you?" Trowa asked. 

"The same age as you and your friends I suppose. Fourteen, fifteen," 

"How do you live?" 

"Excuse me?" 

"How can you live with no emotion? Just a machine?" 

Kalli shrugged. "I just live. After the libration of my people, who knows? I guess who would care? Maybe by then death would be my only option." 

Kalli began to walk out. Trowa grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, a bit confused. 

"I'm sure people would care." Trowa said. 

"I know what people say about and feel about me. I'm respected, but who would want a machine as a ruler?" 

Trowa gave her a small, rare smile. "I'm sure that will change. No one can go on like this forever. Goodnight Kalli." 

He dropped a light kiss on her hand and went to bed, now feeling satisfied. 

Kalli stared after the boy, not believing what took place. She didn't understand. All she knew was that he pressed his lips to her hand. And it felt strange. She looked at the place where his lips touched, no reactions, no color-changing skin, nothing. She brought her hand to her face, wondering, then walked off to bed. 

Trowa suppressed a yawn as he made his way back to bed. He felt better somehow. 

"You feel better because she isn't restless anymore," 

"Beazin?" 

He turned to find himself nearly face to face with the other. 

"I have been following you since I saw you come out of the training room. Forgive me, I have been poking around your mind a bit." 

"Hmm, it's allright." 

"Your restlessness has been caused by her." 

"How?" 

"That's what I intend to find out. Will you trust me, Trowa?" 

"I guess so," 

The gap between Beazin and Trowa quickly closed. She placed her hand on the side of his head, her middle finger resting on his temple, her little finger resting just on the edge of his eye. He didn't feel anything, but he could see in her eyes that she was searching for something. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she backed away. 

"Hmm, strange," 

"What is it?" 

"You, you seem to have the same qualities as a magical person." 

Trowa blinked. "What does this mean?" 

"Hmm, not sure. The dimension travel was something that had me concerned. I don't know if it has any effects on you. I already sensed something from your friend Quatre." 

"He's had that about him for a while. I don't understand it yet, none of us do I think." 

"This dimension may have some effects on you boys. If you were born here, it's possible you would have been magical. It just means that you may have some of the same powers as any of us." She gave Trowa a quick hug and turned away. "If you do have the power, use it. Don't ever be afraid." 

The next morning, Trowa spoke lightly about his night walk, giving the information he felt was necessary. 

"So, we may have the ability to do magic as these people do too." Trowa finished. 

"I kinda like Kalli," Quatre said shyly. 

"Whoa, Quatre you stud you!" Duo said loudly enough to make the boy blush. 

"Well, she feels like a sister to me." Quatre said almost defensively, ignoring the look Trowa was giving him. 

"I respect her." Wufei admitted. 

"What about you Heero?" Duo asked. Then he gave an evil grin. "Or are you still stuck on Relena?" 

"Hell no," Heero mumbled. "It's none of your buisness." 

"Heero's in love! Heero's in love!" Duo sang. 

Heero smirked. "I think it's you who's really in love with the girl." 

Duo threw his braid back indignantly. "Maybe. But then again, I'm sure she'd fall for me before you." 

"The girl can't love anyone Maxwell." Wufei said coldly. 

"Maybe the Wu-man's in love with her." Duo said with a grin. 

Wufei had Duo up against the wall in a second, Duo giggled maniacally. 

"Enough." Kalli said, walking up to them. 

"Good morning Kalli." Trowa said. 

"Wow! Hey, Kalli! You got the Sacred Silent One to talk!" Duo said, then he groaned as Wufei gave him a cautionary slam against the rock wall. Then Wufei dropped him. "Owww, thanks alot you weak Wu-Man," 

Wufei spun around. "I'll kill you for that!" 

Kalli grabbed Wufei's wrist. "Leave him alone." 

Wufei blinked at her. "You know that you're the only woman to approach me like that." 

"I may be the last if you don't watch it." 

Wufei could only stare as she left. 

"She has that effect don't she?" Duo said as Quatre helped him up. 

"She has more in her heart than she thinks." Beazin said. 

"Oh, morning Beazin," Quatre said. 

"Good morning. I heard you guys talking about Kalli." All the boys blushed. "Just wanted to warn you five, emotions could kill her. It's been too long," 

"But you can't let the girl live her entire life as a machine." Duo argued. 

"She's lived like that for years. Who is anyone to change it?" 

"Who are you not to?" Heero challenged. 

Beazin sighed. "I don't want to get onto the wrong foot with you boys since we'll be spending quite a while with each other. As far as Kalli goes, I just say I've warned you."


	4. The Encounter with Darkness

Kalis Journey-Chapter Four: The Encountering with Darkness 

Author's Note: Hmm, weird stuff....Just a yaoi notice, 3+4 

One week went by. The boys familiarized themselves with their surroundings and the people. Beazin insisted on showing them the different ways the poeple used their magical abilities. Some were very good with healing wounds, some were telepathic, few telekenetic. There were a lot of them that could understand the layout of any place simply by putting their hands on the walls. Few were capable of transmitting information just by touching another person. 

The population of the resistance went from two hundred and thirty seven to two hundred and five. 

The second week brought uncomfortable encounters with Kalli. Trowa only gave her slightly sympathetic glances, he no longer spoke. Wufei didn't speak much either, but he did treat Kalli with respect. This only seemed to confuse her. Heero tried to talk to her when they were alone, but she only stared back at him. Quatre treated her nicely, being very polite and tried to strike up conversation but she had very little to say. Duo tried his luck making her laugh but she glared at him worse than Heero. 

"Geez, she really has a wall up doesn't she?" Duo asked. "The girl won't even smile a little," 

"Well you have to watch youself Duo," Quatre said, putting down a cup of tea. "Beazin warned us that emotions could destroy her. They're still there, she just can't show them." 

"Unfortunately those emotions seem to be the key to destroying President Gates and the dark magic his assistants use." Heero said. 

"Well whatever the key is we better find it quickly." Beazin said as she came into the room. 

"What's going on?" Quatre asked. 

"We just did role call." Tran said from behind her, his voice wavering. "Population: One hundred and sixty two." 

The third week was the last straw. By the end of it, the spies of the resistance and Kalli had gathered enough information to launch their attack, though their forces were missing fifty three more members. 

The attack would take place on the next day. The breifing went deep into the night. A storm was coming in the morning, giving them even more coverage for their attack. When Beazin was finished speaking, Kalli was the first to get up and leave the room. 

Beazin sighed. "Okay then, get some rest and we'll get going in the morning. Remember, those who aren't part of this are to watch the children. If the alarms go off, they will go further underground. If you are lost during this attack, remember you have died in the name of our freedom, our dignity, and our long lost king and queen." 

At once there were nods and murmurs of agreement. As everyone else got up to go to bed, a surprised scream filled the hallway. 

There was only one person who had gone into the hallways. 

"Kalli!" The five Gundam pilots cried. They ran out of the room, leaving the resistance members staring after them. 

"They have all gone mad, yes?" Asked a teenage girl. 

"I've never seen anyone so concerned about her." A man said. 

Beazin shook her head. "I think it is foolishness." 

Out in the hallway, the boys were ready to meet someone, anyone, even a former member of the resistance. 

What they found, was nothing. 

"Kalli?" Quatre called timidly. 

"Yo Kalli!" Duo yelled, his voice reverberating in the dark stone corridor. 

"Do you guys see anything?" Heero asked. 

"Not a thing," Wufei said, his eyes darting around. 

"What happened?" Beazin asked as she and the other resistance members joined them. 

"We don't know," Duo said. 

"Kalli isn't answering us." Quatre said. 

Beazin's face fell. "Start search. Be careful, don't go anywhere on your own, report back in an hour." She ordered. She turned to the boys. "Same goes for you five, if you wish." 

Everyone scattered in groups of two to four. Though Wufei wanted to search on his own, Quatre wouldn't allow it. Muttering that Quatre was weak and just didn't want to go on his own, he stalked off with Quatre at his heels. 

"I'm going with them to make sure Wufei doesn't kill him." Trowa said. 

"Looks like it's you and me, Perfect Soldier." Duo said with a grin as their three friends left. 

"Wonderful." Heero muttered. 

"Wassa matter Heero? Too cool to be seen with me?" Duo said, putting an arm around Heero's shoulders. 

"Get off me you baka!" Heero yelled, pushing the American away. 

Duo grinned maniacally as the other stomped away, then he followed. "Oh right, you want Kalli to be wrapping her arms around you, huh?" 

Heero allowed himself to smirk a bit. "Oh come on Duo, I know you like her too. I think we're all in love with the girl, though some of us in different ways." 

Duo wrinkled his nose. "How do you figure?" 

"Wufei respects her and does hold a love for her. Hell, she's the only woman to prove to him that she's strong." 

"How do you know?" 

"I asked him." 

"Oh." 

"Quatre has hopes for her, so in turn will love her in spite of himself. He loves all of life, you know that." 

"Uh huh, so what about Mr. Strong and Silent?" 

"Well, when I asked Trowa what he thought about her, he said he feels like she's a sister." 

"Well duh Trowa's not in love with her." 

Heero gave him a sideglance as they entered one of the training rooms. "What's that supossed to mean?" 

Before Duo could answer, another scream filled the air. But this time it was enough to make someone's blood freeze. It was male, but strangely high-pitched. 

"Quatre!" Both boys cried. 

They sped towards the screaming until it suddenly stopped. People came running from the direction the boys' bedroom was. 

"Hey, hey! What's going on?" Duo asked, grabbing a boy a few years younger than him. 

"Your friend! He's been captured by the spell! Oh my Lord and Lady have mercy on his soul!" He cried. 

"What do you mean?" Heero demanded. 

"The spell of violence, friend Heero," a woman said. "Doubt there be a thing to save him now." 

"That's what you think." Duo said, almost shoving the boy away. 

Heero and Duo made it to the end of the hall where their room was. Beazin sat against the wall, face pale and sweaty, she was crying. 

"Beazin!" Duo called. 

"Duo? Heero!" Beazin cried, her voice terrified. "He has Quatre! He is doomed!" 

"What happened?" Heero asked sharply. 

"They went into your room searching for Kalli. One of them was waiting though, he placed Quatre under his spell and took three more of my people!" 

"Okay that does it." Duo said. 

They went to open their door to find it was locked. Duo pounded on the door, calling out his friends names. The only noises they heard were violent screams of rage and things being thrown about. They heard Wufei cry out, then his cry faded quickly. 

"That does it," Heero said. He backed up a bit, ran at the door and kicked it open. He and Duo rushed in only to be stopped in their tracks. 

The room was a disater. Their beds were all thrown about, two of them broken. Wufei was slumped in one corner, unconscious. Trowa had backed up against one wall and looked as if he was trying to sink into it. An enraged-looking Quatre had been facing him, but now turned to look at who had burst open the door. 

Quatre's blue eyes looked dark, a violent glint in their blue-green depths. His face was twisted with a repulsing rage, his fingers bent like claws. He looked ready to rip apart anyone who crossed him. 

"Whoa," Duo muttered. "If those guys could make Quatre look that evil then this is really not cool." 

"Omae o korosu," Heero said, reaching for his gun. 

"No Heero!" Trowa cried. Quatre spin on him and growled fiercely. Trowa's face paled slightly. "D-d-don't kill him, please," he stammered softly. 

"We better get Wufei out of here." Duo said. 

Heero looked from the unconscious Wufei, to the violent Quatre, to the terrified Trowa and back to Duo. 

"Mission accepted." he murmured. 

But once any of the boys moved, Quatre reeled about on them, ready to attack. 

"Don't move you guys," Trowa said softly. "I, I think I can distract Quatre," 

"Knock him out if you can," Duo said. 

Trowa threw a quick glare at him. Then his eyes turned soft when he looked to Quatre. 

"Quatre, you don't want to do this," he said quietly. "Come on now, I'm your friend, we're all your friends." 

Quatre growled. Trowa tried to take a step away from the wall but Quatre swiped at him. 

"What do we do?" Duo asked. 

Heero didn't answer. 

"Quatre, look what you did so far. You hurt Wufei, you're scaring Duo and Heero. And me." 

Quatre's angry face fell a bit, Trowa took a slight step forward. Quatre's angry look returned. 

"Don't you remember yourself? You're sweet, kind, gentle, not like the rest of us at all but an important part of our team." Trowa said softly. Quatre's face fell more. Trowa took another step forward. "Come on, you remember who you are, right? You're Quatre Raberba Winner, Gundam Pilot of Sandrock. You love tea, you love to read, we spend alot of time at your mansion," 

Duo and Heero seized this opportunity to edge their way to Wufei, who was starting to come around again. Trowa took yet another step towards Quatre, now he stood less than a foot away from him. Suddenly Quatre seemed to snap and he let out an enraged growl at Trowa and looked ready to attack. 

Trowa couldn't take it anymore. With tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Quatre's shoulders, preventing him from lifting his arms. The sudden action also seemed to stun Quatre. 

"Quatre don't do this, please!" Trowa pleaded. "I know you don't want to do this, none of your violence is your fault, I know it! You're under a spell Quatre, please snap out of it! I love you and I refuse to let them take you away from me." He stared directly into Quatre's eyes, tears spilling from his own. "Please return to me Quatre, I can't live without you and I can't stand to see you like this. Please come back," 

Quatre's eyes seemed to go soft, then boiled up in rage again. But before Quatre could fight Trowa off him, Trowa kissed Quatre firmly. 

Heero blinked blankly at them, suddenly understanding what Duo was saying before. Duo just looked on, knowing about them for a while, and Wufei passed out again, muttering that he had to be dreaming. 

A bright blue light enveloped the two. It's source seemd to be from Trowa, but no one could really tell. 

The evil that was in Quatre's eyes slowly left him. He didn't know what was going on, the last thing he remembered was looking in the room. Now he found Trowa in front of him, arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and kissing him. He felt very weak, but found enough strength to kiss Trowa back. 

When Trowa felt Quatre returning the kiss, he broke it off after a moment. Then he held the boy by his shoulders at arms length. 

"Quatre?" He said slowly. 

"Trowa," Quatre whispered. "Aishiteru," 

Then the last of his strength left him and Trowa was just able to get a grip under his arms. He sank down with the boy in his lap, held him close and cried. 

"Beazin was right," Heero said, obviously amazed. "Love and compassion are the two things to break the dark spells." 

Kalli slowly opened her eyes. She was in a small room, it had only one dying lightbulb as a source of light. She sat up and shivered. The cold ground was made of metal, as was the door. There was no windows. She had to have been captured. 

"Where am I?" She wondered aloud. 

"In your own mind." A voice said from outside the door. "We are in the realm that holds your mind and spirit Kalli." Kalli's eyes narrowed slightly. The voice chuckled. "Oh don't narrow your eyes at me my young lady. Need I introduce myself?" 

"No need for introductions," Kalli said flatly. "Nice to meet with you again, President Gates."


	5. The Meeting with Evil

Kalis Journey-Chapter Five: The Meeting with Evil 

Author's Note: yaoi warning in effect(Duo+Heero) 

"So, where am I now? Back in my cell?" Kalli asked as if she were bored. 

Gates laughed. "No. We are in your mind Kalli." 

"Oh? So what is this place I'm in?" 

"It's the cell you made for yourself due to years of my training. You've never lived outside of it." 

"Oh really?" 

Kalli went to the door and tried to open it. But it was locked. 

"See? I have already defeated you Kalli." 

"You defeat me when I die." 

"It's time you learned some truths Kalli. The world isn't the place for you." 

"How do you figure?" Kalli sat in the corner of her cell, looking around as Gates spoke. 

"The world is full of emotion. No one can live without their emotions, young Princess. Fear, friendship, hate, anger, sadness, love and joy make the world go round. You see, you can't have love without hate, peace without war, you may be emotionless now but one of these days they'll come flooding back to you. And you'll die." 

"But why?" Kalli said as she leapt to her feet. "That doesn't make sense. I can't love anyone, so no one loves me back. I can't be hurt by emotions I can't feel." 

"Is that a tone of anger I hear in your voice Kalli?" 

Kalli's eyes narrowed. "You're wrong. You have never been right once Gates, I doubt it'll start now." 

A sudden pain rose in Kalli's chest. It wasn't much, but Kalli felt the burning sensation rising into her throat. She backed up against the wall, swallowing hard, trying to make the burning stop. Gates chuckled. 

"And so it starts, young Kalli. Your years of unemotional stress are over. Today marks your downfall." 

Kalli slid down the wall, falling on her knees. "This is a fight you can't win. The resistance will stop you and your dark magic." 

Gates chuckled more. "What you don't know young Kalli is that your resistance no longer exists." 

"What?" 

"Yes, it is hard for a resistance to resist when they can't even control their own actions." 

Trowa carried the unconscious Quatre out of the room. Heero and Duo helped Wufei along the corridor, Wufei protesting nearly the entire way. 

"I hope Quatre will be okay," Duo said, looking over at him laying limp in Trowa's arms. 

"What happened?" Heero asked. 

"We went into the room to search for Kalli." Wufei explained. "Waiting inside was a tall man. He looked really strange, short black hair, glinting black eyes, very tall, probably six feet. He raised his hand and said something, I don't remember what it was. But after that, Quatre went crazy and began attacking us. I think the man slipped past us while we tried to calm Quatre down." 

"Huh, so that must be that dark magic everyone's been talking about." Duo said. 

"Guess so." Heero replied. 

They came to the large area where the resistance usually gathered to talk, learn and play. But instead, everyone left in the resistance were standing in a group, staring at the boys. At the head of the group stood a tall man, black hair shining, black eyes sparkling. 

"Damn it." Duo cursed. 

The man laughed. "So I see you killed your comrade, or at least knocked him senseless." 

"Actually we broke your stupid spell asshole." Duo sneered. 

"What did you do to Kalli?" Heero demanded. 

The man yawned, tossing an envelope at their feet. "President Gates has a certian interest in you five. I don't see why he doesn't just let me destroy you." 

He began to walk away, the resistance followed him. 

"No," Heero said. He let Wufei go and drew his gun, aiming it at the man. "Omae o korosu," 

"Bukate baka ne," the man said. He waved his hand and the gun flew out of Heero's grip. 

The entire group turned and left the boys staring after them. 

"What was that?" Duo asked. 

"What?" Heero snapped as he picked up the envelope. 

"What the jerk said," 

"Japanese." 

"Okay. What's in the envelope?" 

Heero brought it over to them and opened it. Inside was a letter. Heero read it out loud. 

"I've known about the attack on me by the resistance. Come find my base and your friends, Princess Kalli is waiting there for you to witness her destruction. Careful now, no one is part of the resistance anymore. You boys will be completely on your own. Your mission; come to my base and witness Kalli's death. I shall be waiting." Heero dropped the letter. "It's signed President Gates." 

"Gates is weak," Wufei growled. "Too weak to face us himself, he has to attack those weaker than him." 

"He has Kalli." Duo said. "We've got to go help her." 

Trowa nodded. "I'm sure Quatre will agree." 

Heero smirked. "Mission accepted." 

Kalli slowly opened her eyes. The burning pain dissapeared, but now one of the walls of her cell were missing. 

"What's going on?" Kalli wondered, standing up to peer out of her cell for the first time. 

What she saw was black. No floor, ceiling or other walls, just an endless feild of darkness. She walked around a bit, trying to look at everything in a logical view but found it near to impossible. She turned back to where her cell was and found it gone. A strange wave of something resembling fear washed over her. A chuckle filled the air. 

"Your emotional wall is down. You've felt the beginnings of anger, now you are feeling a delightful emotion called despair." Gates said, his voice annoyingly soothing and calm. 

"Where am I?" Kalli demanded. 

"I've told you before, in your own mind Kalli." 

"I don't see how that can be," 

A sudden square of white light appeared before her. She looked into it and saw the corridor outside the meeting room. She could still hear Beazin talking, but she had felt the meeting no longer concerned her. It took Kalli a moment to realize that the white square was like a television screen, she was looking out her own eyes. Then a dark figure loomed in the hallway. It raised a hand towards Kalli, but didn't attack. Kalli had demanded the figure to reveal itself, but when it didn't comply she attacked. Before she could get within a foot of the figure, a horrible sense of vertigo fell over her. She fought it as long as she could, but it weakened then finally overcame her. 

The screen flickered, then focused on President Gates. He and his workers were in a room, Kalli was tied up in a chair. The workers connected wires to her head and body, another handed Gates a headpiece. 

"This will allow you to enter her mind. We designed it to your specifications Mr. President, sir," the worker said. 

"Excellent." Gates said. 

"So you put me in this thing," Kalli said. "I really am in my own mind. But my mind is logical, so why is everything around me in this place illogical?" 

"The human mind is illogical Kalli. You have become logical by putting yourself in a box. When logic can't overcome illogic, both schools of thought are destroyed." Kalli looked stunned, she clutched at her chest and swayed where she stood. "You see? Slowly your body is deteriorating," 

"Wait a minute," Kalli said, breathing hard. "If this is all in my mind, how come I feel pain?" 

"Your mind is connected to your body my dear. Whatever happens here will be happening to your body." 

"Oh," Kalli was on her knees again, the pain rising. Her fear was the culprit this time. "I know you better than you think Gates. You have another reason for me to be here." 

"I can't fool you Kalli. Yes, I did bring you here for more reason than to watch you suffer. I don't believe anyone should die without knowing the truths of their pasts." 

"What's that supossed to mean?" 

"What you know about your parents, for the most part, is all a lie." 

Kalli struggled to her feet, just barely succeding. "So they weren't the rulers of Kallis? It still doesn't make you right for the way you run this sorry government." 

"Oh no, don't worry little princess, you still are the "rightful ruler" of Planet Kalis. Yes indeed your parent were the rulers of this soverignty, but it's not true that their deaths were accidental." 

"So you killed them, makes sense." 

"Yes my dear. You are quite bright, aren't you." 

Suddenly the darkness around her shuddered, like a pebble being dropped in a pond. The darkness slowly became light and she found herself in a room. It was a nursery. Decorated with pink and silver walls, a neat pile of stuffed animals on a small chair and table. A navy-blue and silver, very ellegant-looking crib was placed on one side near the large window. The lacey drapes had been pulled back to allow sunlight and warmth into the little room. It all seemed very cozy, peaceful, innocent. The noises that were growing outside the room weren't. Kalli looked to the doors as they suddenly burst open. A group of strong men pushed two people into the room. 

One had already been rendered unconscious. It was a thin man, skin very dark, his brown hair was short and closely cropped around his face. He wore a red and gold uniform, white gloves encased his hands and he wore shining cobalt boots. 

The other was a woman, she screamed and cursed at the men. But even in her rage she still looked like a queen in her navy-blue and silver gown. It matched the crib. Her silver tiara lay askew atop her golden brown hair. She wore no shoes or gloves. Her dark blue eyes were alight with fire. 

"Mom? Dad?" Kalli wondered. 

"You lay one more hand on my family I swear to the gods I will-" the queen screamed. 

"Shut up!" A man yelled, slapping her across her face. 

"Don't you touch her!" Kalli suddenly screamed, rushing forward toward the man who hit her mother. She ignored the horrible bursting pain in her chest when she ran through the man and stumbled onto the floor. She could hear Gates laugh. 

"This is but a memory my child." Gates said, continuing his laughter. 

But his laughter began to grow, then he seemed more closer than Kalli thought. Then the men parted to allow a tall, powerfully built man forward. 

It was a fifteen-years younger President Gates. A malicious look was in his eyes. The king was beginning to come around again, the wife held onto him. 

"You can do what you want with me," the king said in a soft, dangerous tone. "But touch our Kalli or my wife and I will-" 

"Idle threats your highness," Gates interrupted. "Merely, idle threats. What use are you two if you're dead?" 

He snapped his fingers and the men roughly picked up the royal couple. They brought in two chairs and soon the king and queen were tied and gagged to them. 

Kalli, meanwhile, watched in horror, clutching her heart, privately praying this would end soon. 

The king and queen were also watching in horror. The men began pouring a liquid all over them and the room. Their muffled screams were terrified. Suddenly, another scream sounded in the room. It came from the little crib facing the window, the only thing untouched by Gates' men thus far. Gates slowly walked over and peered in. 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Gates said slowly. He reached in and picked up the screaming baby girl, who only screamed louder. Gates looks furious. "Shut up." He slapped the baby's mouth, which only made the infant cry harder. 

Kalli watched the queen as she began to cry, the king looked pleading. 

"I believe his highness has something to say," Gates said, nodding to one of his men. 

The man stepped forward and pulled down the cloth tied to the king's mouth. 

"Please Gates, please spare my daughter. Give her to one of the peasants I beg of you," he pleaded. 

President Gates looked amused. He held the baby at arms length, examining her. Kalli could see a cruel coldness glaze over his eyes. 

"I don't believe in telling lies to those about to die, your majesty." Gates said. "But no, I don't think I'll spare your daughter." 

"Then, then what will you do to her?" The king stammered. "How can you kill such an innocent?" 

"Innocence means nothing." Gates snapped. "No, I shall bring up the girl as my faithful warrior. Goodbye your majesties. Your, "accident", will go down in Planet Kalis' history." 

Kalli watched helplessly as President Gates carried the screaming infant away, a fire was lit and the room went into flames. She turned and closed her ears, trying to block out the agonized screams of her parents as they met their dooms. 

"Nooooooo!!!!!" Kalli began screaming when she thought she couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it! STOP IT!!!" 

She fell to her knees, she wasn't sure what she was feeling anymore. The pain in her chest rose high and sharp, dark thoughts began to cloud her mind and smoke blocked her vision. She fell over, tears in her eyes, and hit the ground. 

Then everything melted away. The room, the fire, the burning bodies of her parents. Kalli lay in the black void that was her own mind. 

Outside her mind, in the room where she was held prisoner, Gates smiled. 

"Such a great warrior she became," Gates murmured. "Too bad I have to break her down just to build her up once again." 

Quatre had finally awoken and he listened carefully as the others explained what had happened. He blushed slightly when hearing of his rampage and went scarlet as Trowa explained how the spell was broken. 

"So I wasn't dreaming," Wufei muttered. "Jesus," 

"Okay, so Kalli's been kidnapped." Quatre said quickly. "What do we do now?" 

"We have to find the base that Gates is holding her. Shouldn't be too hard, Beazin has told us where it is." Heero said. 

"But what if the information she was getting was wrong?" Wufei asked. 

"Doubt it, these guys seem to be pretty smart." Quatre said. "We can just use the plan Beazin told us about." 

"Our only problem is that the base is like a maze. We weren't informed of how to get around because it wasn't necessary before." Heero pointed out. "But whatever we do we better do it quickly or else-" 

Heero was stopped by Quatre raising his hand slightly. He looked worried. Heero followed Quatre's eyes next to him where Duo sat. Duo was staring into space, his face pale, his lips moving but no sound coming out. 

"Hey, Duo?" Heero said, nudging him slightly. He didn't move. "Duo?" Duo didn't even acknowledge him. His eyes slowly started rolling back. "Hey Duo! Snap out of it!" 

Heero started shaking Duo hard. Quatre stood and seperated the two. 

"Heero back off a minute," Quatre said, still looking at their friend. "I think he's sensing something. Remember that we have magic powers now too," 

"This is stupid," Wufei muttered. 

Duo seemed to come off whatever cloud he was on, but very suddenly. He gasped and stood up, looking around frantically. 

"Kalli's dead," he said quickly. 

"What?!" His friends exclaimed. 

"Maxwell what are you talking about?" Wufei demanded. 

"I, well she's not dead. Not yet," Duo stammered, sweat breaking out on his forehead. 

"You better sit." Trowa said. 

Duo nodded a bit, letting Quatre help him back to his seat. 

"But, but remember that dream I had before we came here? This was it, I remember it now," Duo asked. 

"So this means what?" Quatre asked calmly. 

Duo laughed a lttle, trying to put on his usual bravado. "Means I can get us through that maze of a base." 

A couple of hours later, the boys had infiltrated the base and found their way around. Of course, it took a lot of Heero slamming Duo into nearby walls when they ran into dead ends. 

"Hey Heero would you chill out!?" Duo protested after being thrown into yet another gray, metal wall. 

Heero pulled Duo up by his shoulder. "Why are you leading us into dead end's Duo Maxwell?" 

"Hey, I said I had a pretty good idea of how to get around here." Duo rubbed his head and gave Heero a menacing look. "I never said I knew the exact way." 

"Enough you two," Quatre said, stepping between them. "Look, Beazin has told us that we'd have magic abilities in our own times. Perhaps we should begin trying to use them now." 

"We have no time for magic tricks Winner." Wufei growled. 

Quatre ignored him, taking a few steps away from them and stood still in the cold passage. He closed his eyes, let his head tilt back slightly and waited. He wondered if he could draw in the answers if he concentrated. 

He suddenly gasped, clutching his chest. The Heart of Space was comfirming the fact that their friend was in trouble. Moreso than they could ever imagine. 

"What is it?" Duo asked quickly. 

"Kalli's mind is being messed with." Quatre said softly. 

"How did you do that?" Trowa asked. 

Quatre sighed. "If you guys could sit still for a moment and just let everything go, the answers will come to you too." 

Heero raised an eyebrow. Trowa and Wufei exchanged silent glances. Duo gave a yawn and shrugged. 

"Aw hell it couldn't hurt." Duo said. 

Quatre smiled as Duo stepped up and followed the same pattern as him. 

It was much longer before Duo reacted. He just gasped, but didn't say a word. 

"Duo?" Heero whispered. 

Duo turned his head only slightly to him, holding a hand towards him. Heero couldn't help stepping forward to take Duo's hand. When he did, it was like electricity running through his body. A sudden knowledge came to him, he soon could see what Duo saw. Between them both, they saw their way around the maze. With a sudden, small cry of pain Heero yanked his hand away from Duo's. He couldn't take the sensation anymore. 

"What the hell was that?" Heero demanded between breaths. 

Duo leaned over, resting his hands on his knees. "Your guess is as good as mine." 

"You must have transfered knowledge Duo." Quatre said. "I've seen it done a few days ago." 

"Okay, so you can see Kalli, Duo and I can see through the maze, what about these two?" Heero asked, indicating Wufei and Trowa, who still stood silent. 

"I don't buy this magic stuff." Wufei said. 

"That's right, you don't buy it. You just use it." Duo said, playfully punching Wufei's shoulder. 

Wufei rubbed his shoulder ruefully. "Not like I know how," 

"Me neither." Trowa said. 

"Oh you two, think with your hearts instead of your heads." Quatre said tolerantly. 

"Come on guys, let's figure out the rest later. Kalli's in trouble." Duo said. 

They continued through the maze with a better sense of direction than before. They knew they were getting close when they heard a couple of guards. 

"How long do you think it will take for Gates to break her down?" One asked. 

"I couldn't tell you." The other replied. "He seems pretty bent on her though," 

The boys decided they weren't interested in the rest of their conversation. They took out the guards with little problem. Five against two were good odds for them. 

"That was a bit too easy," Duo mumbled, tossing back his braid. 

"Well let's get Kalli out of here before Gates wises up to us." Quatre said. 

"He-yah!" Wufei kicked the metal door open. Then he hopped on one foot for a minute. 

"Are you okay?" Quatre asked as he and the others stifled giggles. 

"Don't. Say. One. Damn. Word." Wufei muttered. 

The boys entered the room, then stopped and stared. They saw Kalli was strapped tightly to a chair. A strange device was on her head, the wires connecting to it fed information to a strange computer. 

Heero went to the computer, studying the data that shown on the screens. Duo walked over to Kalli, the others looked on with concern. 

"What's all this?" Wufei asked. 

"They rigged her mind up to this machine. I can't tell what it does yet, never seen anything like it." Heero said. 

"Well let's get her out of this thing!" Duo said, reaching for the headgear. 

"What are you, nuts?" Trowa exclaimed, grabbing Duo's arms. 

"You need to ask?" Wufei said. 

"Duo, if this thing is connected to her mind, taking it off could kill her." Heero said. 

Duo stared at them all for a moment, silent. Trowa let him go. They looked at Kalli, confused, not sure of what they could do now. 

"She looks so helpless," Duo said softly, not being able to keep himself from taking her hand. 

"She reminds me of one of my sisters." Quatre said. 

Wufei and Trowa were silent. 

"I feel so useless." Heero said. 

"That's no way to talk Heero," Quatre said sympathetically. "I mean, what could any of us do? None of us could se-" 

"Shhh," Trowa ordered suddenly. 

They were all silent. They could hear a soft hissing. They glanced at each other, then at the door. It was already closed. 

"How the hell?" Duo wondered. 

Wufei went to the door and tried all he could to open it. His efforts were useless. 

"Whoever locked this did it good. We didn't even hear it close." He said. 

"Yeah, we were all too infatuated with Kalli." Duo muttered. 

"Not me." Wufei replied quickly. 

"No way." Heero said harshly. 

"Oh come off it, the two of you." Quatre said, walking to the door. "We all admitted we love her one way or another. No use denying it now." 

He stumbled a bit. Wufei stepped forward to steady him, looking at the boy quizically. 

"The air is thinning, being replaced with sleeping gas I think." Quatre said softly. "You guys, we got to get out of here." 

With a small sigh, Quatre went limp and fell into Wufei's arms. The others were still, realizing Quatre had been right. And there was no escape. 

Trowa stepped forward and took Quatre in his arms. He sat down with the boy, stroking his blond hair for a moment before gazing up at the others. 

"Only a matter of time." Trowa said softly. 

The others could only nod, then wait. 

Wufei went down next. Duo commented that if he wasn't trying to get out of there so hard he could have stayed awake longer. Trowa wasn't far behind, he had layed down next to Quatre, one arm around him, then drifted off to sleep. 

Heero and Duo sat next to each other, silent. 

"They're cute, aren't they?" Duo said, his voice light and serious. For once. 

"Hn?" 

"Trowa and Quatre." 

"Hn," 

"Hey Heero?" 

"Hn?" 

"First of all, is that all you'll say?" 

"Hn." 

"Fine. Do you really love Relena?" 

Heero shifted his weight. "Not so sure." 

"Do you love Kalli?" 

"I think so." 

"I think love her too." 

"Really?" 

"Well, yeah." Duo stared at him. "You really don't like Relena do you?" 

"Well, I do, but I think I love Kalli, but then again there's-," Heero cut himself off, resting his head against his knees. "Duo, I don't know anymore. I feel so lost. I failed this mission, I failed everyone, we might never get home, what if someone is stealing our Gundams as we sit rotting here? I'm just so lost. I don't know what I'm feeling anymore." 

Duo blinked. "Are you trying to tell me you're gay or something?" 

Heero let out a small, pathetic laugh. "Like I said Duo, I don't know. Maybe it's the gas." 

When he heard no other comments, he looked up to find Duo's eyes in front of his. 

"Maybe I can help make up your mind?" Duo whispered. 

Without waiting for an answer, Duo leaned forward and brushed his lips against Heero's. Heero's body stiffened slightly, but then he suddenly wrapped his arms around the other boy and pulled him closer. Duo was expecting a surprised Heero, but wasn't prepared to be surprised himself. He melted into Heero's arms as their kiss deepened, wrapping his arms around his small waist. 

The kiss was broken when Duo slumped into Heero's lap, unconscious. Heero straightened his legs in front of him, resting his back against the wall and he held Duo close. His fingers brushed through his bangs. 

"Thank you for trying to help me find peace, Duo." Heero whispered to his friend. "Maybe I have found it." 

Only moments later, Heero drifted off to dreamland as well.


	6. The Coming of Terms

The Kalis Journey-Chapter Six: The Coming of Terms 

Author's Note: Yaoi warning still in effect...Quatre+Trowa and Duo+Heero. What's really in the mind's of our boys, huh? 

Quatre opened his eyes and looked around. Everything around him was black, but he could see himself. 

"Hello?" He called. "Is anyone out there?" 

Well, where ever he was, it was strange. His voice didn't reverberate, his words died as soon as they left his mouth. He began walking around, straining his mind to remember where he had been, how he had gotten there. He remembered feeling the air thin and he could smell the sleeping gas. Whoever had trapped him and the others knew about the rescue attempt, or at the very least figured it and had a very good plan on traping them. Quatre knew that if there was sleeping gas involved, he'd be the first to go. he stopped walking and closed his eyes a moment, remembering. The last thing he saw was Wufei's concerned and trivial look at him. Quatre sighed, looking at his feet. 

"Two men I love and respect, only one wants me in return." Quatre murmured. "I don't know why I still like Wufei. I'm not sure what he had seen in me either. But I still love him. Does Trowa know about my feelings for Wufei? Would he forgive me if I did tell him?" 

"Your love for two men has grown considerably Quatre," a voice said soflty. 

"Who are you?" 

"Only the spirit that resides within you. I am here to teach you when to let go." 

"But I can't just drop my feelings for Wufei, or my feelings for Trowa. What should I do?" 

"That is an answer you must find out on your own." 

"Yes, I figured that. Well, it is logical that I love Trowa more. He loves me in return. But I can't help loving Wufei. The mind os such an illogical thing, isn't it?" 

"But you are a warrior Quatre. Your life depends on logic." 

Quatre was getting very sick of this strange voice very fast. "And what would you know?" 

"You kill then you cry. You love but don't act. You ask questions but then have no answers. Who are you Quatre? Who are you deep down inside?" Quatre didn't answer. "Just as I thought. You don't know, do you? When one does not know of himself, he is truly lost. You've lost the battle of your own mind Quatre. You let too many things trick you." 

Quatre had been cringing away from the voice, though it was a bit difficult seeing as how the voice was all around him. But as the spirit said its last words, the proverbial lightbulb went off in his head. 

"Ah, there you may have a point. But I think I have been tricked for the last time." 

"Whatever are you talking about?" 

"I know very well who I am. I am Quatre Rabereba Winner, the pilot of Gundam Sandrock. I am a young man who loves two people and that is a problem I will deal with on my own if fate has it. I love Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei, if I lose someone over that I will only lose myself." 

The voice chuckled, but in a soft, gentle tone. "You have learned well Quatre. Love is what shall save you and your friends. Your powers are strong, never forget that. When the five combine you could do the impossible." 

"The five combine?" Quatre asked. "You mean my friends and I?" 

"Go Quatre. Your friends are in danger. Go." 

"But where?" 

Around him there were four rectangles of light. 

"You have gained entrance to the minds of your friends. You must choose wisely for some cannot be helped, but other can." 

"There's only four choices, but-" 

"Go before the danger deepens." 

"Er, yes sir." 

Quatre took a deep breath and took one of the rectangles at a run until he was encased in the light. 

Trowa's eyes fluttered open. He was in his bed. He was back at the circus. Back home. 

"Oh man, what a weird dream," he murmured. "Catherine?" 

He sat up and looked around. Everything was the same, but something was wrong. He left to go looking around. 

"Catherine? Catherine? Where are you?" Trowa called. 

This was strange. He always knew where Catherine was, and she would answer almost immediatly. He noticed the circus was empty. No sign of anyone. 

"Catherine? Catherine!" His calls got more fierce. "Catherine!! Someone better answer me!" 

Nothing. A cool gust of wind triffled with his hair, which he quickly smoothed back in place. He wasn't liking this. There was absolutely no one around. 

He kept walking around, trying to find someone, anyone. Perferably someone he knew, but then he decided beggars couldn't be choosers. 

He finally stopped when he found a heavy wooden door just standing their in the middle of his path. He examined the door carefully, wondering what it was doing in the middle of a path. 

"Hmph, looks like something that would belong in Quatre's house." he murmured. 

Quatre. Trowa sighed. Already he missed the little blond. He was always so comforting, peaceful, quiet. 

Trowa shook himself out of his trance and shrugged, deciding the door was just a door and opened it. 

Then he gasped. Inside was Quatre's house. His head whipped back to find the front yard of said house. He looked back into the entrance hall. 

"What is this? Some kind of joke?" Trowa wondered. "At least Quatre will be here." He stepped inside the house and closed the door. "Quatre!" 

Trowa's voice echoed around the large hall. There was little doubt anyone would not hear him. But there was no answer. 

"Quatre!" he called again. "Are you here? Heero? Wufei? Duo? Anyone?!" 

Trowa's heart sank and he felt sick to his stomach. There was still no answer. The one thing that made frightened Trowa was being alone. It reminded him too much of losing his memory. He shook his head hard. This had to be a joke. A sick, twisted joke. He began running through the house, calling and begging for anyone to answer. He had to have checked every room and his voice was quite hoarse when he finally collapsed on an overstuffed sofa in one of the sitting rooms. He caught his breath and wiped the sweat forming on his head. He gave a glance over at the table and found a book. He recognized the title, it was the last book Quatre had been reading. 

Tears slowly formed in the pilots eyes. He angrily wiped them away before they could fall. But after staring at the book, he couldn't help it any longer. He buried his face into the sofa and cried. Any thoughts of Quatre that crept into his mind made him cry harder. 

"Trowa!" 

The voice was in his head. 

"Trowa!" 

He growled slightly, wishing it would leave him in his own misery. 

"Trowa!" 

The voice grew louder. He couldn't stand it. It sounded too much like Quatre. He stood up, looking around the room. 

"Trowa! Can you hear me?" 

"Unfortunately," Trowa growled. "Stop it!" 

He noticed there was a glass case. Inside it was a very old-looking sword. Its blade was broad, the straight side lined with jewels, the blade's edge glittered. It was lined very finely with diamonds. 

"Trowa!" 

The voice was closer, louder. Trowa couldn't stand it. He hated being alone and he hated to be without Quatre. And now this voice seemed to be mocking him. 

"Just make it stop!" He cried out, lifting the sword, blade tip pointing towards his heart. 

Then there was a gasp, but it didn't belong to Trowa. 

"What the hell are you doing?!?!" 

Pressure was put on Trowa's wrists. He let out a gasp and dropped the precious antique. Then a hand came across his face. 

"What is wrong with you?" 

Trowa shook his head and brought a hand up to wipe away his tears. His knees went weak when he found a pair of concerned blue eyes staring at him. A trembling hand touched the blond hair as the other pulled the other boy close. 

"Quatre? This better not be a dream," Trowa stammered. 

"No Trowa, not exactly. We're trapped in our own minds. Gates caught us. Remember?" Quatre said, a hand caressing the spot where he slapped Trowa, hoping to sooth it. "I'm sorry I hit you, but you were crazy. Why didn't you answer when I called?" 

"I thought it was all in my head." Trowa mumbled. 

"Well everything's okay now." Quatre said, hugging the other. Then his face fell. "Well, not really." 

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked. The two of them sank back onto the couch. Trowa had regained his own senses and held Quatre close. 

"Well there's something I think you ought to know." Quatre said softly. "I love you very much Trowa. But, but I also love Wufei. I can't stop it, but I can't stop my love for you either." 

Trowa supressed a laugh. "Then it would only be fair if I shared my secret then. Wufei and I did have a small relationship a while ago. He told me that he loved you, so I told him he could, in turn, no longer love me. We stayed friends, but could no longer be dating or anything." 

"So, Wufei loves me?" 

"Yes. And I love you. And apparantly, you love me too. I've learned since then though, things that used to bother me don't anymore." He sighed. "A love triangle. Perfect." 

"I'm glad." Quatre leaned up to give Trowa a small kiss. "We better get going." 

"Huh?" 

Suddenly the room and the sofa evaporated. The two were in total darkness with three rectangles of light ahead of them. 

"What is going on?" Trowa asked. 

"Long story. Come on, I'll explain on the way. We have to go into someone else's mind..." 

Wufei stared around, his beloved Nataku at the ready. He was in an empty feild, but Oz soldiers had been attacking him for the past half hour. 

"Come on," he challenged. "You weaklings! Face me!" 

Another three soldiers came at him, he disposed of them immediatly and their bodies seemed to just dissintergrate. 

"Is this all I am for?" Wufei wondered, his eyes darting around for any signs of more danger. "To kill my enemies in one place then continue onto another? Just an avenger. Why won't my pain stop?" 

A very larg group of Oz soldiers appeared out of nowhere. Wufei slashed at them without mercy, without feeling. They kept coming, but he kept going. Finally tears broke free as he ridded himself of the last of them. Now he was exausted and he sat on the grass, his sword in his lap. 

"I've lost the one person I loved and repected, I can't have the other one. Kalli is no longer here, but she can't love me back." Wufei murmured, wiping the line tear that trickled down his cheek. "Whatever this place is, I'm on my own. The other are without me. It is for the best I guess. But it hurts." 

He stood and started walking. Not sure where he would go, no idea what he would do. Every once in a while another enemy would lash out at him. He reached the edge of the feild and began walking through a forest. It was there that fear finally reached him. 

He heard a growl in the underbrush. He spun around, nothing was there. Then he heard something running. It was running towards him. Wufei couldn't fight what he couldn't see, but he knew the creature was very large, and assuming from the growls, either hungry or angry. So he did the only thing he could. He ran. The creature gave chase. Any time Wufei tried glancing over his shoulder at the creature he couldn't see it. 

Soon Wufei was losing his footing as well as his breath. He was also losing concentration and didn't see the tree root that lay in his path. His trip and landed hard, the wind was knocked out of him. He rolled over onto his back, trying to force himself to breath normally. The beast was upon him. He could feel its hot, stinky breath in his face. But as the beast breathed, Wufei felt life and energy draining from him. He couldn't open his eyes to face it but he did scream. 

"Wufei!" The cry came from a distance. Wufei gasped, opening his eyes. 

The beast was gone. 

"Wufei!" A second voice. 

Wufei looked around. He grabbed hold of the nearest tree and forced himself to his feet. He realized he was shaking, from what he couldn't tell. But he also felt very weak. He blinked, wiping sweat out of his eyes, even then he noticed he could see very well. Something had hurt him badly. 

"Wufei!" Both voices called. Wufei tried placing them but it hurt his head too much. 

He felt his stomach lurch. He turned to the other side of the tree and lost at least half of whatever he had left in his stomach. He noticed there were traces of blood. He looks down and saw a deep gash on his side. 

"Wufei!" 

The voice was next to him. He decided it was a good thing because he couldn't stand on his feet any longer. He fell, then felt a pair of arms catch him, realize that they couldn't support his weight and lowered him to the ground. He could just barely feel an embrace around his chest. 

"By Allah, what happened to him?" 

"Well, assuming from the realm we're in looks like his fear caught up to him." 

"Hey, Wufei! Wake up! You're okay now, you're with us." 

Wufei forced his eyes open, but still couldn't see much. He could just make out a mop of blond hair to his left, a tall, quiet figure to his right. 

"Quatre? Trowa?" He said weakly. 

"Are you okay?" 

"I don't know." 

"Well come on, let's get you out of here." 

Two pairs of arms helped him back on his feet and they stumbled through the forest. Suddenly Wufei felt a surge of life comes back to him. With a gasp he looked up. Darkness surrounded him, but there were two rectangular sources of light. He would have been startled if it weren't for the two men he loved on either side of him. 

"Trowa? Quatre? What the hell just happened?" Wufei asked. 

"We just rescued you." Quatre said with a smile. "Are you okay?" 

"Think so," 

"This is dangerous. If that's what Wufei's mind was like," Trowa said. 

"My mind?" Wufei asked. 

"Long story, I'll explain. We still have to get Duo and Heero." 

Trowa shuddered. "I think I could handle Heero, you two go get Duo." 

Trowa began to walk off, but Quatre grabbed his arm. "No, we stay together." He said firmly. "I'm not losing anyone anymore." 

"Okay, this is so, so uncool. How the hell did I get in this place?" Duo wondered out loud. He was in an alleyway that looked way too familiar. "This all has to be in my head. There's no way I'm back home." 

There was a stir in the shadows. Duo whipped around. 

"Who's there?" he demanded. 

"P-p-please don't hurt me," a small voice barely made itself audiable. "I'm just lost," 

Duo dropped his fighting stance and stared into the dark shadows. Out from behind a garbage can was a young boy. His clothes were torn, his brown hair was in a long, messy tangle of dirt and grime. 

Duo fell to his knees. It was him, as a child. Tears stung his eyes and he couldn't help holding his arms out to the young boy. 

The little Duo hesitated, then ran to his older self, burying his face in his black shirt and cried. 

Duo held the tiny boy close, letting him cry his little heart out. He patted the boys head, tried and failed to run his fingers through the mess of hair. 

"There there, everything's okay," Duo whispered, patting the litte one's back. 

"No it won't!" The child sobbed. "My mommy and daddy are dead! I'm all alone!" 

"Hey, hey now," Duo said, peeling the little boy off a bit to look into the matching eyes. "Come on, you're one tough little kid. And you're only going to get stronger." 

"But who willtake care of me?" 

Duo sighed. "Unfortunately Duo, you are going to have to care for yourself now." 

The little one gasped. "How did you know my name?" 

"I knew your parents pretty well." Duo said with a small smile. "I doubt they've told you about me." 

Little Duo slowly shook his head and wiped his tears away, sniffling. 

"So what do I do now?" He asked. 

Duo stared at him for a moment. If someone had been there when his parents were killed, what would he want them ti tell him? Duo took a deep breath and put his hands on the child's shoulders. 

"Listen little Duo," he said softly. "There's a church down the street from here. You can find help there." 

"A church?" 

"Yeah. I think you'll find it pretty cool." 

The old, sly, slightly devilish smile crossed over little Duo's face. It took everything in big Duo's power not to laugh. 

"Okay. If you say it's good it would have to be, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"Thanks mister." 

Little Duo hugged big Duo around his legs. Duo placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair even more. Little Duo turned and began running down the alleyway. 

"Oh, and Duo?" Big Duo called. 

Little Duo turned. "Yeah?" 

"Don't let them cut your hair, no matter what. You hear me?" 

The smile appeared again, but this time it was soft and sweet, not so devilish. 

"Nah, I'd like to have a cool braid like yours." 

With that, little Duo ran. Big Duo waved, tears in his eyes. 

"Guess this means I'm finally at peace with my past." Duo said, slightly dreamily. Then a stern look overtook his features. "But what about the other guys?" 

"We're right here." 

"Ahhh!" 

Duo jumped and spun around. He too found himself surounded bt darkness. One rectangle of light came from a few feet away. Quatre, Wufei and Trowa stood beside him. 

"Very touching Maxwell." Wufei said. "Your mind isn't as scary as I thought." 

Duo's face fell. "Awwww, darn," 

Quatre laughed. "Well now, guess only Heero's left." 

Duo gasped. "Wait, you man he's not here?" 

"No. You see, we're trapped in our own minds Duo." Quatre explained. "It seems Gates tries to bring us to our fears, but that hasn't seemed to happen for you or me." 

"Then again you two are the best at magic." Trowa pointed out. 

"That may be." 

They could hear a scream come from the rectangle of light. It was an unfamiliar sound coming from a familiar voice. 

"Heero!" Duo cried. He turned to the light and started running. 

"No Duo!" 

"You're crazy Maxwell!" 

"We're supossed to stay together! It could be dangerous!" 

"DUO!" 

Heero stood in a defensive stance. Gun raised. He was surrounded. What made matters worse was that he was surrounded by all of his friends. And each of them had a gun pointed directly at him. 

But who was acting on their own will? Who was being controlled? He couldn't risk killing them if this was real, but if this was an illusion, could illusions kill him? 

Any time anyone even blinked Heero turned to them, pointing his gun, ready to shoot. 

"I will kill any of you attempting to hurt me." Heero warned. "So, any of you going to admit you're doing this on your own terms? Or is whoever controlling you going to step forward to pay his debt?" 

There were no answers, but they all did take a step closer to him. 

"I'll kill you all I swear!" He said angrily. "Even you guys," 

He turned to the other Gundam pilots. Their faces hard and cold as stone. Noin and Zechs looked the same. Even Relena was pointing a gun at the boy. 

"Relena, what about your idea for total pacifism?" Heero asked. "Hell, you're annoying at times, always asking me to kill you." Relena took a step forward. "Maybe I will." 

He fired his gun. The bullet hit his target, Relena's head, but she shimmered away like a stone being dropped in a pond. 

"What the hell?" 

Another gun was fired and Heero ducked. The bullet hit Zechs, who also shimmered away. 

Heero began shooting all around as fast as he could. The bullets just went through the others until finally Noin also dissapeared. Only the other Gundam pilots were left. Three bullets left in his own weapon. 

"Oh sure, just one of you make a move." Heero said, watching their eyes. "I'm jusy begging for one of you to give me an excuse to shoot you." 

His fingers trembled slightly on the gun. He was prepared for many things, but coming face to face with his fellow Gundam pilots was one he truly did not want to encounter. 

He looked over at Duo, keeping the gun as level as he could. He stared at Heero more intently than the others. Was it because they kissed before they captured? Did Duo really love him? 

Then something happened. Duo began to shimmer slightly, then it looked like another Duo ran through him as if he weren't even there. 

"Heero!" the running Duo cried as the other dissapeared. 

On instinct, Heero pulled the trigger. When he looked up, Duo stared at him, a hand on his chest. Heero could see the blood seeping out between his fingers 

"DUO!" 


End file.
